For a student, college life is one of the most interesting and fun life experience. These are the developing years of a young adult, and they have a significant impact on the person’s future. One of the most important reasons people go to college is to gain the skills needed for a specific job.
However, there are things outside the classroom that can educate the student better. They include volunteer work to help the community and those in need. Although classroom lessons are crucial for achieving your career goals, they are not the only ones that improve your interpersonal skills.
To obtain real-life experience, interact with people outside the university. Think about joining a student club involved in community service or another volunteering group. Such experiences change your perspective on life, change you, and develop an array of soft skills.
Becoming an agent of change will only do you good, at the same amount you do good for others.
Helping Others Equals Personal Development
Attaining career growth and personal development are complementary – you cannot attain one without gaining the other. A good example of a personal development activity is assisting those in need.
Helping others is rewarding and fulfilling. It gives you purpose and drive to succeed. The satisfaction you feel after doing a good deed motivates you to tackle other life’s hurdles – like your career.
There is no greater feeling than working towards something you know will benefit everybody. It enriches you and makes you happy, especially if you can directly see the effect of your work on people around you, and what it means to them.
This is not just hearsay. A group of college students that volunteered in the habitat for humanity community program said it motivated them and changed their perspective – as many of them never had to worry about having a safe place to live in.
The lesson here is that serving others changes a person for the better and educates students beyond college classes.
Volunteering Makes A Great Career Booster
At one point, you may have heard your professor encouraging you to take part in volunteer work. As it turns out, volunteering is a great career booster. For starters, it shows that you have good time management skills.
You have to be an organized person to be involved in extracurricular work and keep good grades. It also improves your creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking – all traits that a good future employee has. Employers will need proof that you can execute various assignments or activities outside your comfort area while sustaining high levels of work performance.
When you are in the field doing volunteer work, you get to learn about the various ways you can improve your community, which boosts your inventiveness, interpersonal skills, and cognitive abilities.
Community service improves your resume and helps you to find a great job later. Employers tend to give special consideration to people with volunteering experience because they believe that they are team players.
Another reason to use volunteering as a career booster is that it gives you leadership experience. If you have the ambition you can take the lead and experience leadership firsthand – far sooner than you will have a chance to do it in the workplace.
College Organizations Are Your Foot-In-The-Door
If you want to try this but don’t know where to find volunteer work, ask around your campus. Many student groups are communities helping communities. Sororities and fraternities usually include community service. Greek organizations offer opportunities to take part in hands-on community work and organize philanthropic events to raise money for noble causes.
Take the chance on these organizations since joining one might be a first step in leaving an impact on humanity and environment. Sometimes what you are looking for is right there in front of your eyes.
By joining a club that does community work, you increase your social network. Growing your network outside the college means meeting people that can help you in your career.
Networking is not the only key to academic success but also for career improvement. If you wonder where most community work happens, look no further than NGOs. Since non-profit organizations need volunteers in every corner of the business, you can develop skills in different areas (even marketing or social media) and fine-tune your post-college goals.
Doing Good For Others Does Good To You
It is sometimes very hard to think about helping other people when you are dealing with personal issues and a busy schedule.
College is often stressful. Many students have to work part-time to be financially stable and finish their degrees and that causes a lot of emotional imbalance. We all know stress negatively affects health, from causing obesity to high blood pressure.
One study revealed that helping others improves health. Volunteers involved in the research were less prone to depression and had lower mortality rates.
College might not be as stressful after going through the world of less fortunate. Doing the right thing for others while reaping the benefits yourself is a win-win situation. Even if volunteering experience doesn’t meet your expectations career-wise, there is a scientific proof that people who help others are happier.
The Takeaway Thought
The best out of the class action to develop your own personality and experience the adult life beforehand is volunteer work. Find student clubs that have community service programs in your campus and join. This way, you can ensure both career and personal evolution.